The long awaited arrival of the twelfth Doctor, played by Peter Capaldi, arrived via T-Rex in London on the 22nd of August. Arriving with a pleasant scottish accent, this wrinkled Time Lord was accompanied by a confused Clara and, of course, the timeless TARDIS.
Much like this very new Doctor, this episode was a little all over the place (and that’s saying something for a show with Daleks, Weeping Angels, and reptilian ladies). It featured very important questions, such as: Why are those robots harvesting human organs? How long can Clara hold her breath? Who exactly put that article for an Impossible Girl in the newspaper?
We find these answers at an italian restaurant. Seems a little commonplace in the Whovian world, right? But things are not always as they seem. The Doctor soon notices how no one at this place of eating seems to be, well, eating. Or breathing for that matter. With no escape in sight both he and Clara are plunged into the depths of a cynical restaurant where the only thing on the menu is fresh organs. The doctor manages a brief escape, and in a surprising twist leaves Clara behind to face the music.
Or should I say whirring of mechanical robot insides? Either way, it seemed that our spunky companion would be meeting her demise sooner rather than later. I guess it would all depend on how long our impossible girl could hold her breath.
The robots detect humans by the sound of their breathing so to escape losing liver or spleen, Clara takes one more deep breath. She’s blue in the face by the time she manages to escape, only find herself once again surrounded and once again eye to eye with death by organ removal. But just like always, the Doctor has her back. And although they eventually escape these robots, this sense of loyalty the Doctor and Clara feel towards one another is short lived.
This episode is all about a new Doctor finding his footing. He’s no longer the bow-tie wearing, fish-fingers-and-custard-eating, young man that Clara remembers. In fact he looks older than ever, with wrinkles and, as he called them, attack eyebrows. This Doctor lacks the cuddly, flirtatious aura given off by the Eleventh Doctor, and Clara struggles to come to terms with that. However, when things seem bleakest, the Eleventh Doctor gives Clara a call from the past. Just like always, our raggedy man pulled through and our elfin sidekick decides to join the newest Doctor on a few more adventures.